Monster Hunter Wilds: How to check a Monster's strength

Understanding a Monster's strength in Monster Hunter Wilds is crucial if you want to survive tougher hunts and earn better rewards. As you progress, you’ll face stronger versions of familiar monsters, each with enhanced abilities and aggression.

However, the game doesn’t explicitly explain how to determine a monster’s power level before accepting a quest, which can make encounters unexpectedly difficult. Fortunately, there’s a way to check a monster’s strength beforehand, helping you prepare for the fight ahead.

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How to identify a Monster's strength in Monster Hunter Wilds

Speak with Alma in MH Wilds (Image via Capcom)

The best way to check a Monster's strength in Monster Hunter Wilds is through the quest selection screen. When speaking to Alma, the quest handler, each mission displays key details about the target monster. The difficulty of the quest itself is indicated by an orange star rating, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

To see how Monster's strength, look at the bright pink diamonds above its icon on the same screen. These diamonds serve as a secondary indicator, showing how much tougher a particular version of the monster is compared to its base variant. The more diamonds, the stronger the creature.

It’s entirely possible to encounter a monster at the same difficulty level but with different strength ratings. A monster with additional pink diamonds will have enhanced stats, making it far more challenging even if it appears in the same tier of quests.

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How Monster's strength affects battles

A still from Monster Hunter Wilds (Image via Capcom)

A monster with a higher strength rating behaves very differently in combat. These variants are noticeably more aggressive, forcing hunters to adapt their strategies.

Increased strength leads to a few key changes. Monsters at higher strength levels hit significantly harder, making mistakes much more punishing. They also have more HP and defensive abilities, which means fights last longer. These creatures don’t just absorb damage — they’re also smarter, using advanced attack patterns that make them much harder to predict.

For those engaging in Investigations, stronger monsters come with a higher time threshold, giving hunters more time to complete the hunt. However, the challenge is balanced with better rewards, including higher-tier materials, more money, and extra Hunter Rank experience.

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Unlocking stronger Monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds

Once a monster has been defeated at a certain difficulty and strength, a stronger variant will begin appearing in the open world. This means that even if you’ve already taken down a creature before, it’s worth checking for new, tougher versions that offer better loot and a greater challenge.

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